Editing Canterbury Cathedral (section)

==== Martyrdom of Thomas Becket ====
[[File:Thomas-becket-window.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|Image of [[Thomas Becket]] from a [[stained glass]] window]]
[[File:Canterbury Cathedral Choir 2, Kent, UK - Diliff.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|The 12th-century [[choir (architecture)|quire]]]]
A pivotal moment in the history of the cathedral was the [[murder]] of the archbishop, [[Thomas Becket]], in the north-west [[transept]] (also known as the Martyrdom) on Tuesday 29 December 1170, by knights of [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]]. The king had frequent conflicts with the strong-willed Becket and is said to have exclaimed in frustration, "[[Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?]]" Four knights took it literally and murdered Becket in his own cathedral. After the Anglo-Saxon [[Ælfheah of Canterbury|Ælfheah]] in 1012, Becket was the second Archbishop of Canterbury to be murdered.

The posthumous veneration of Becket transformed the cathedral into a place of pilgrimage, necessitating both expansion of the building and an increase in wealth, via revenues from pilgrims, in order to make expansion possible.